Eureka's Caty Eeten Named SLIAC Newcomer of the Year
FULTON, Mo. – Eureka College freshman guard Caty Eeten (Eureka, Ill./Eureka H.S.) has been chosen as the 2010-11 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year, according to an announcement by SLIAC Commissioner Will Wolper during Thursday's league tournament in Fulton, Mo. Additionally, Eeten was named to the All-SLIAC Second Team and junior forward Khassandrae Brown (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria H.S./Kankakee) was the Eureka representative on the 2010-11 SLIAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
Eeten scored four points in 26 minutes off the bench in her Eureka debut at Illinois-Springfield on Dec. 18 after transferring to Eureka College and joining the women's basketball team at semester break. She went on to average 17.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 17 games played and earned a total of 14 starting assignments. Eeten was especially solid in 13 games against SLIAC competition, leading Eureka with 19.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest.
The 5-foot-9 guard scored in double-figures 15 times during her debut season and finished the campaign with an offensive flurry, scoring 20 points or more in four of Eureka's last seven games of the season. She put together a 36-point, 11-rebound performance in Eureka's overtime game against Blackburn on Feb. 16 and closed the season with 35 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in the Red Devils' win over MacMurray last Tuesday. Eeten's 16 free throws made in the season finale at MacMurray matched the single-game school record.
Eeten becomes the fourth Eureka women's basketball player to earn postseason recognition from the SLIAC and the first Red Devil to earn a postseason specialty award since Nicole Fisher was named the 2008 SLIAC Player of the Year.
Brown appeared in 23 games, including 21 starts, during her first season for the Red Devils after transferring from Kankakee Junior College. She scored a team-best 340 points during the campaign and ranked second on the team behind only Eeten in scoring average with 14.8 points per game. Her 164 total rebounds were the second-most by a Eureka player, but her average of 7.1 boards per game led the team. Both averages ranked fourth among SLIAC players. Only Spalding junior Kelly Harrod and Principia junior Lindsay Sydness joined Brown in ranking among the top-five in the league in scoring and rebounding per game. The SLIAC All-Sportsmanship Team includes one player from each member school.
Under the direction of first-year head coach Taren Martin, Eureka finished the 2010-11 season with a 9-15 overall record and a 5-11 SLIAC mark, good for a sixth-place tie in the league with Blackburn.
Westminster junior guard Rachel Backes received the SLIAC's annual Player of the Year award and fourth-year head coach Tracey Braden was named SLIAC Coach of the Year after leading the Blue Jays to a 16-0 league record and their first SLIAC regular season championship in school history. Greenville received the league's Sportsmanship Award.
